You are so fortunate to have found this board. You are getting some awesome advice here.
I have one sure-fire investment for you.
If it is possible, and the house you are in is large enough, you and your girlfriend should take on a boarder. I know, this can be annoying, but I used to have a place near USC in LA and I had USC students as roomates that I found in the Daily Trojan. Seriously, I had some wonderful people living in my back room.
Then take the rent (say $500 per month?) put it in a joint savings account and let two years go by.
You will have more than $12,000 saved, you will have watched the price of housing go down and when you do buy a place you will have extra dollars for movers, repairs, furnishings, landscaping etc.
In this economy dull, cautious investments are the only ones to make!
